Dwayne Golden, 57, has been sentenced to 97 months in federal prison (just over eight years) by a judge in Brooklyn. He was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering for running a multi-state crypto Ponzi scheme. Between April and August 2017, Golden funneled over $40 million of investor money into three sham companies—EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet‑Coin—promising guaranteed returns that never materialized. Funds from new investors were used to pay earlier investors, and additional assets were misappropriated by him and his co-conspirators .
After the scheme collapsed, Golden and partners tried to obstruct federal probes, including destroying evidence and lying to investigators .
In addition to prison time, Golden must forfeit approximately $2.46 million in ill-gotten gains, and restitution amounts are pending .
Co-defendants William White received 30 months, while Gregory Aggesen and Marquis Egerton (also known as Mardy Eger) are awaiting sentencing .
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It’s one of the more substantial sentences in recent years involving crypto fraud, signaling aggressive federal enforcement.
The case highlights the persistent risk of Ponzi-style schemes in the crypto space despite growi
ng regulations.
